above:
official stamp used by the Jewish Authorities (Va'ad HaKehila or Community
Council)

Mazheik

(Mozheik)

(in Yiddish)

=======

Mazeikiai

(in
Lithuanian)

North-Western Lithuania

56.20N 22.20E

מז'ייק

מאזייק

This
site is dedicated to the Blessed Memory of the Shtetl Mazheik and its
inhabitants, who were murdered in August 1941.

Seventy
Years since the massacre of Mazheik Jewry 1941 - 2011Seventy years have passed since the depraved massacre of
our Loved Ones. We can never forget those horror-filled days, in which
our ancestors were slain. Germans and Lithuanians were ruthless and merciless.
The evil and hell were more terrible than would seem humanly possible
to contemplate. Yet the murderers were capable of this. They carried it
out.
On the 10th of the Hebrew month Av, August 3rd 1941 in the Gregorian calendar,
and again on the 16th day of Av, August 9th 1941, most the men, women
and children of Mazheik and surrounding areas were shot and buried in
a mass grave. Some were buried alive. All suffered unspeakable anguish
and torment.We honour their memory. It lives on. Their souls are eternal.
May they rest in peace.

A new memorial plaque in memory of the Martyrs
of Mazheik (Mazeikiai) was placed in the memorial wall in front of the
Martyrs Cave (a.k.a. Bnei Brith Cave) in the Forest of Martyrs in the
Jerusalem Hills.

(Pictures and relevant info. to be posted)

Geography:

Mazeikiai
is located on the Venta River, in the north-western
part of Lithuania, approx. 10 Km from the Latvian border.

Mazeikiai
is situated at the junction of the Libau (Liepaja) - Romny and Riga-Oriol
train lines.

Town History:

Until
the 2nd half of the 19th century, Mazeikiai was
a small village or hamlet, with a population of some tens of inhabitants,
mostly farmers.

The
settlement grew with the laying of the Libau (Liepaja) -Romny
rail line in 1868 and the Mazeikiai – Riga line in 1872/4.

One
of the railway stops was located at the crossing of three roads from Vieksniai,
Leckava and Tirksliai, and it was named after a small farm whose master
was Mazeika. This was the way how Mazeikiai was named.

Following to the end of World War I, Jewish community life began
to return and develop, resulting in the establishment of various community
organizations.

During the era of Independent Lithuania, the Jewish community
of Mazeikiai enjoyed relative autonomy, under the supervision of the Office
for Jewish Affairs of the Lithuanian Government…

Rare
old wooden structure, the former Jewish School building (picture : courtesy Benzi Kahana)

The Holocaust:

Following
the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, the Soviets invaded Lithuania in 1940…

The
Germans entered the town on Wednesday, June 25, 1941…

Jewish
life in Mazeikiai came to an end with the mass killings of the men on
Sunday, August 3rd 1941 - 10th of Av 5701 (actual day of 9th Av fast,
delayed from Shabbat to Sunday) and the women on Saturday, August 9th
1941 - 16th of Av 5701.

This siteis dedicated to the Jewish Life
that Mazeikiai was once home to. From eye-witness reports, we know that
~save a handful of old wooden houses~ nothing is left of what once was
a vibrant hub of Jewish life in the Shtetl. There are reported to have
been 1000 Jewish souls in Mazeikiai prior to the fateful days of July
and August 1941. Today, on the outskirts of the town, there is a
road-sign on the edge of thick woods. It
states: ZYDU
GENOCIDO AUKU VIETA. Though in the Lithuanian language, this
hardly requires translation. It is universally clear that this
site bears witness to the unbearable fate of our beloved families. Continued
...

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